Automatic stop device.



0. c. HARRIS & N. L. McLEOD.

AUTOMATIC STOP DEVICE.

ABPLlCATION FILED SEPT- 6,4917- Patented Apr. 1, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

' I Mm c. c. HARRIS & N. L. MeLEOD.

4 AUTOMATIC STOP DEVICE.

APPLlCATION FI'LED SEPT. 15. 1917.

Patented Apr. 1, 1919..

2 SHEYEISSHEET 2.

amen toms QQHaFeR1 5 N L M -LEOD CHARLES C. HARRIS AND NORMAN L. MCLEOD,SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

AUTOMATIC s'rorDEvIoE.

Specificationof Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 1, 1919.

Application filed September 6, 1917. Serial No. 189,973.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES and NORMAN L. MoLnoo, citizens of theUnited States, residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State ofWashington,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic StopDevices, of which the following is a specification, reference being hadto the accompanying drawlngs.

automatic stop device for machines and has for its primary object toprovide means more particularly designed for use in connection with canbody forming machines, which will instantly and automatically stop theoperation of the machine when an'imperfect blank is fed thereto, or anabnormal condition occurs in the feeding of the blank.

It is a more particular object of the invention to provide a movableelement opera tively engaged with the clutch shifting lever, whereby theoperation of the machine is controlled, and electromechanicalmeans forholding said part against movement when the clutch lever is in operativeposition, said means having a circuit closed upon an abnormal movementof the blank holder.

'It is another important object of our invention to provide a device forthe above purpose which is simple and inexpensive in its construction,may be applied tocan body forming machines now upon the market, nd isautomatically set for operation when the clutch lever is moved toposition to start the machine in operation.

With the above and other objects in view, our invention consists in thenovel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts tobe hereinafter more fully described, claimed and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a side elevation, the clutch lever being in operativeposition, the circuit for the 'sto motion device being diagrammaticallyi lustrated;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation; and

Fig. 4 is a side elevation, partly in section, showing the relativepositions of the parts after the stop device has operated.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings, we have shown a blank holder B with which thecan body forming machine is provided. The blank metal sheets for thecans are placed in a suitable receiver and are fed out by mechanic. timeThis invention relates to an improved cal means (not shown), one at atime, be-

neath the blank holder B. This blank holder is provided for the purposeof holding the sheets absolutely flat as they move over the bed plate,and said blank holder is mounted for vertical movement, being normallypressed downwardly upon the metal sheet by a suitable means. Thus, if afaulty sheet or a defective operation takes place, or two sheets shouldbe fed at the same time beneath the blank holder, said blank holder willbe raised. Likewise, if a sheet should buckle or twist or some foreignmaterial be carried thereby beneath the blank holder, the same verticalmovement of the latter would occur.

L designates the clutch shifting lever which is fixed upon the clutchshaft C suitably mounted in the machine frame indi cated at F. When thisshaft is rocked or rotated, the clutch is thrown to its effective orineffective position. A bracket plate or casting 5 is fixed to the frameF and is provided with spaced bearing arms6, in each of which an openingis formed. A rod 7 is loosely mounted in the openings in said bearingarms for longitudinal movement, and this rod is integrally connected atone of its ends to an elongated, horizontally disposed loop 8 throughwhich the upper end of the clutch shifting lever L extends. The

loop 8 terminates at one of its ends in a suitable handle 9. Upon theopposite end of the rod 7, a coilspring 10 is arranged, said.

spring bearing at one of its ends against one of the arms 6 and at itsother end against a washer plate 11 which may be adjusted by the nut 12threaded on said rod, whereby the tension of the spring can be suitablyregulated. The bracket casting 5 is formed with a depending arm 13 uponwhich a solenoid 14 is mounted. The solenoid core 15 has alongitudinally extending pin or stem 16 formed upon its upper end,movable through coinciding openings in the spaced lugs 17 formed uponthe bracket casting 5. The rod 7 is provided with an annular groove 18to I receive the upper end of this pin. One terminal of the winding ofthe solenoid is connected by a wire 19, through the frame of themachine, to the ground, and the other terminal of said coil is connectedby the wire 20 to one side of the battery 21.

The bracket members 22 are suitably mounted upon the machine frameadjacent to the opposite ends of the blank holder B and insulated fromsaid frame. In these bracket members, contact pins 23 are mounted andyieldingly urged by the springs 2% toward the ends of the blank holder.The bracket members 22 are connected by Wires 25 to the opposite side ofthe battery 21, and the circuit through said battery may be opened orclosed by a suitable switch 26. The blank holder B is likewise connectedto the ground by the wire 27.

In the practical operation of the device, assuming that the machine isin operation and the parts set 'in the positions shown in Fig. l, theswitch being closed, it will be readily seen that if an imperfect blankis fed to the. machine or the blank buckles or twists, or some otherabnormal condition exists, the blank holder B will be raised intoengagement with the contacts 23. The circuit will thus be closed throughthe blank holder, the pins 23, wires 25, the battery 21 and wire 20 tothe solenoid, and from the solenoid through the machine frame to theground. Thus, the solenoid core will be moved to disengage the pin 16from the groove 18, thereby releasing the rod 7. The spring 10 willimmediately expand and move the rod 7 to the position seen in Fig. 4 sothat the lever L which is engaged in the outer end of the loop 8, willbe thrown over to a vertical position, thereby rotating the shaft C andshifting the clutch to which the shaft is operatively connected, to anineffective position. In this manner, the operation of the machine isinstantly stopped so that the possibility of injury to its parts isthereby obviated. When the machine is again started in operation, themovement of the clutch lever pulls the rod 7 outwardly so that the corepin 16 will again engage in the groove 18, the solenoid core beingnormally forced upwardly by the coil spring indicated at 28, which isengaged with the lower end of the core. Also, the stop motion device maybe set independently of the clutch lever by pulling outwardly upon thehandle 9.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, the construction and manner of operation of thedevice will be clearly and fully understood. It will be appreciated thatby a very simple arrangement of parts, we have succeeded in producingmeans for instantly stopping the operation of the machine upon thefeeding of a defective blank thereto which might result in the breakageof the parts of the machine if its operation was permitted to continue.The invention may be manufactured at relatively small cost and readilyapplied to can making machinery now in general use.

While we have shown and described the preferred form and construction ofthe various parts, it is to be understood that the same are susceptibleof considerable modification therein and we, therefore, reserve theprivilege of adopting all such legitimate changes as may be fairlyembodied within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we desire to claim andsecure by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination with the clutch shifting lever and the movable blankholder, of an axially shiftable rod having aloopon one end in which saidlever is engaged, the lever being movable with respect to said loop toits inoperative position, a spring urging the rod in one direction tomove the lever to an inoperative position, a solenoid having a coreprovided with means to co-act with said rod and hold the same againstmovement under the act-ion of the spring, and a circuit for the solenoidautomatically closed upon an abnormal movement of the blank holder,whereby said rod is released and moved by the spring to throw the clutchlever to an inoperative position.

2. In combination with the clutch shifting lever and the movable blankholder, an axially shiftable rod having a loop on one end through whichsaid lever extends, the lever being movable with respect to said loop toits inoperative position, a spring to urge the rod in one direction andmove the lever to an inoperative position, said rod being provided witha circumferential groove, a solenoid having a core provided with meansto engage in said groove and hold the rod against movement under theaction of said spring, said rod being shifted to its set position by themovement of the clutch lever to an operative position, and a circuit forthe solenoid including spaced contact members adapted to be engaged bythe blank upon an abnormal movement thereof, whereby the circuit isclosed and the rod released forv movement under the action of saidspring.

In testimony whereof we hereunto afiix our signatures in the presence oftwo wit- HGSSGS.

. CHARLES C. HARRIS, NORMAN L. MoLEOD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

